Central Canal Ependymal Cells Proliferate Extensively in Response to Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury but Not Demyelinating Lesions

The adult mammalian spinal cord has limited regenerative capacity in settings such as spinal cord injury (SCI) and multiple sclerosis (MS). Recent studies have revealed that ependymal cells lining the central canal possess latent neural stem cell potential, undergoing proliferation and multi-lineage differentiation following experimental SCI. To determine whether reactive ependymal cells are a realistic endogenous cell population to target in order to promote spinal cord repair, we assessed the spatiotemporal dynamics of ependymal cell proliferation for up to 35 days in three models of spinal pathologies: contusion SCI using the Infinite Horizon impactor, focal demyelination by intraspinal injection of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), and autoimmune-mediated multi-focal demyelination using the active experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model of MS. Contusion SCI at the T9–10 thoracic level stimulated a robust, long-lasting and long-distance wave of ependymal proliferation that peaked at 3 days in the lesion segment, 14 days in the rostral segment, and was still detectable at the cervical level, where it peaked at 21 days. This proliferative wave was suppressed distal to the contusion. Unlike SCI, neither chemical- nor autoimmune-mediated demyelination triggered ependymal cell proliferation at any time point, despite the occurrence of demyelination (LPC and EAE), remyelination (LPC) and significant locomotor defects (EAE). Thus, traumatic SCI induces widespread and enduring activation of reactive ependymal cells, identifying them as a robust cell population to target for therapeutic manipulation after contusion; conversely, neither demyelination, remyelination nor autoimmunity appears sufficient to trigger proliferation of quiescent ependymal cells in models of MS-like demyelinating diseases.     

Long-Term Administration of Valacyclovir Reduces the Number of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)-Infected B Cells but Not the Number of EBV DNA Copies per B Cell in Healthy Volunteers

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) establishes a latent infection in B cells in the blood, and the latent EBV load in healthy individuals is generally stable over time, maintaining a “set point.” It is unknown if the EBV load changes after long-term antiviral therapy in healthy individuals. We treated volunteers with either valacyclovir (valaciclovir) or no antiviral therapy for 1 year and measured the amount of EBV DNA in B cells every 3 months with a novel, highly sensitive assay. The number of EBV-infected B cells decreased in subjects receiving valacyclovir (half-life of 11 months; P = 0.02) but not in controls (half-life of 31 years; P = 0.86). The difference in the slopes of the lines for the number of EBV-infected B cells over time for the valacyclovir group versus the control group approached significance (P = 0.054). In contrast, the number of EBV DNA copies per B cell remained unchanged in both groups (P = 0.62 and P = 0.92 for the control and valacyclovir groups, respectively). Valacyclovir reduces the frequency of EBV-infected B cells when administered over a long period and, in theory, might allow eradication of EBV from the body if reinfection does not occur.Primary infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is frequently asymptomatic in infants and children, but infection of adolescents and young adults can result in infectious mononucleosis. EBV is associated with several malignancies, including Burkitt''s lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Hodgkin''s disease, and lymphoproliferative disease, in immunocompromised and immunocompetent persons (6, 20).In healthy EBV-seropositive persons, about 1 to 10 in 10⁵ peripheral B cells are infected with EBV (14). The virus establishes latency in memory B cells. The level of the latent EBV load in healthy individuals remains stable over time, maintaining a “set point” for each individual (19). It is uncertain how this “set point” is maintained, but the latent EBV load is thought to reflect a balance between removal of EBV-infected cells due to the half-life of memory B cells and reinfection of new memory B cells during virus reactivation. The EBV genome replicates when B cells latently infected with EBV divide using the host DNA polymerase, which is not sensitive to the action of acyclovir. However, when the virus reactivates in latently infected B cells, EBV replicates using the viral DNA polymerase, which is inhibited by the phosphorylated form of acyclovir. Therefore, blocking production of new virus with acyclovir should decrease the latent EBV load at a rate equivalent to the half-life of memory B cells. Patients with zoster who were treated with oral acyclovir for 28 days showed no reduction in the EBV load in the blood, despite complete inhibition of EBV shedding in the saliva (23). These results suggested that antiviral therapy for longer than 28 days is necessary to detect a reduction in the EBV load in the blood.In this study, we administered either valacyclovir (valaciclovir) (which is absorbed more effectively than acyclovir and metabolized to acyclovir) or no antiviral to healthy volunteers for 12 months and measured the level of EBV DNA in the blood every 3 months.     

Toll-Like Receptor Agonists Synergistically Increase Proliferation and Activation of B Cells by Epstein-Barr Virus

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) efficiently drives proliferation of human primary B cells in vitro, a process relevant for human diseases such as infectious mononucleosis and posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease. Human B-cell proliferation is also driven by ligands of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), notably viral or bacterial DNA containing unmethylated CpG dinucleotides, which triggers TLR9. Here we quantitatively investigated how TLR stimuli influence EBV-driven B-cell proliferation and expression of effector molecules. CpG DNA synergistically increased EBV-driven proliferation and transformation, T-cell costimulatory molecules, and early production of interleukin-6. CpG DNA alone activated only memory B cells, but CpG DNA enhanced EBV-mediated transformation of both memory and naive B cells. Ligands for TLR2 or TLR7/8 or whole bacteria had a weaker but still superadditive effect on B-cell transformation. Additionally, CpG DNA facilitated the release of transforming virus by established EBV-infected lymphoblastoid cell lines. These results suggest that the proliferation of EBV-infected B cells and their capability to interact with immune effector cells may be directly influenced by components of bacteria or other microbes present at the site of infection.Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a herpesvirus, is a very successful infectious agent: it establishes and maintains latent infection in >95% of human beings worldwide. This success is related to EBV''s varied strategies to maintain itself in its preferred host cell type, the B cell, by establishing different modes of latent infection (46). Some of these modes (latency modes 0, I, and II) are characterized by a resting B-cell phenotype and expression of a very limited set of EBV proteins (from none to four). In contrast, latency III involves the expression of at least 12 EBV latent-cycle gene products (10 proteins and 2 RNAs) (30, 31), which in their combined action profoundly alter the B cell''s appearance and behavior by inducing B-cell activation associated with proliferation, altered receptor expression, and cytokine secretion, as well as causing enhanced antigen presentation (31).In these various features, EBV infection of the latency III type resembles physiological activation of B cells in germinal centers even in its molecular details, because EBV closely mimics or constitutively activates some of the B cell''s main signaling pathways. Exogenous physiological signals leading to B-cell activation have been classified as “signal 1,” the stimulation of the B-cell receptor (BCR) by antigen binding; “signal 2,” the stimulation of CD40 by the CD40 ligand molecule, expressed on activated helper T cells; and “signal 3,” the stimulation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) by microbial components, such as unmethylated CpG DNA, or their mimics. All three signals together are required for maximal proliferation of naive B cells (47). However, stimulation with TLR ligands alone, for example, CpG DNA, is sufficient to cause transient B-cell activation, including proliferation and induction of immune effector molecules such as CD86, a T-cell-costimulatory molecule (24). Additional immune effectors, the cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-10, and IL-12, are induced when CpG stimulation is combined with strong CD40 stimulation (55).For primary infection of B cells, it is well established that EBV''s latent membrane proteins LMP2A (10, 39) and LMP1 (22) mimic signaling by the BCR and CD40, respectively. It is less clear whether and how EBV generates a potential signal 3 in the course of primary B-cell infection. A role of the TLR7 pathway has been proposed, based on the observation that EBV infection of naive B cells elevates the expression of TLR7 and its downstream signaling mediators (40). Additional mechanisms have recently been proposed to explain how EBV might trigger TLRs or other pattern recognition receptors in other cellular systems. For example, the Epstein-Barr virus-encoded small RNAs (EBERs) were described to trigger the retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I)-encoded protein, a receptor for various viral RNAs, in Burkitt''s lymphoma cells (48, 49). TLR2 signaling in monocytes is activated by binding of EBV particles to the cells (21) or by extracellular provision of EBV dUTPase (2).However, a physiologically relevant signal 3 need not originate in EBV itself. Other microbial agents present at the site of EBV infection might influence EBV infection, B-cell transformation, and virus release. For example, infectious mononucleosis (IM), a frequent consequence of primary EBV infection in adolescents and adults, is usually accompanied by tonsillitis with characteristic massive bacterial colonization (50), a likely source of TLR agonists acting on local EBV-infected B cells. Here we investigate the effects of CpG DNA and other exogenous TLR ligands on EBV-driven B-cell proliferation, clonal outgrowth, and induction of activation-associated cellular receptors and cytokines.     

X-Linked Agammaglobulinemia Patients Are Not Infected with Epstein-Barr Virus: Implications for the Biology of the Virus

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infects both B lymphocytes and squamous epithelial cells in vitro, but the cell type(s) required to establish primary and persistent infection in vivo has not been definitively elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate a group of individuals who lack mature B lymphocytes due to the rare heritable disorder X-linked agammaglobulinemia in order to determine the role of the B cell in the infection process. The results show that none of these individuals harbored EBV in their blood or throat washings. Furthermore, no EBV-specific memory cytotoxic T lymphocytes were found, suggesting that they had not undergone infection in the past. In contrast, 50% of individuals were found to carry human herpesvirus 6, showing that they are infectible by another lymphotropic herpesvirus. These results add weight to the theory that B lymphocytes, and not oropharyngeal epithelial cells, may be required for primary infection with EBV.     

Persistence of Epstein-Barr Virus in Self-Reactive Memory B Cells

Epstein-Barr virus infection has been epidemiologically associated with the development of multiple autoimmune diseases, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosis. Currently, there is no known mechanism that can account for these associations. The germinal-center (GC) model of EBV infection and persistence proposes that EBV gains access to the memory B cell compartment via GC reactions by driving infected cells to differentiate using the virus-encoded LMP1 and LMP2a proteins, which act as functional homologues of CD40 and the B cell receptor, respectively. The ability of LMP2a, when expressed in mice, to allow escape of autoreactive B cells suggests that it could perform a similar role in infected GC B cells, permitting the survival of potentially pathogenic autoreactive B cells. To test this hypothesis, we cloned and expressed antibodies from EBV⁺ and EBV⁻ memory B cells present during acute infection and profiled their self- and polyreactivity. We find that EBV does persist within self- and polyreactive B cells but find no evidence that it favors the survival of pathogenic autoreactive B cells. On the contrary, EBV⁺ memory B cells express lower levels of self-reactive and especially polyreactive antibodies than their uninfected counterparts do. Our work suggests that EBV has only a modest effect on the GC process, which allows it to access and persist within a subtly unique niche of the memory compartment characterized by relatively low levels of self- and polyreactivity. We suggest that this might reflect an active process where EBV and its human host have coevolved so as to minimize the virus''s potential to contribute to autoimmune disease.     

Reactivation of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 in Cells of Latently Infected Mouse Trigeminal Ganglia Cultured in Serum-Free Medium

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) was reactivated more rapidly in cells of latently infected mouse trigeminal ganglia which were cultured in serum-free medium (after 3.7 days of cultivation) than in those cultured in serum-containing Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (after 8.5 days of cultivation). The concentration of calcium ion (Ca²⁺) in the medium affected HSV-1 reactivation in ganglionic cultures, and 0.9 mM was the optimum concentration for the reactivation. Reactivation was delayed significantly in ganglia put into culture 4 months or more after infection compared with those cultured 1 month after infection.     

不同感染状态下EB病毒核抗原亚型表达的研究

本实验用免疫印迹法纯化的抗ＥＢＮＡ亚型抗体,结合显微荧光分光光度检测技术,检测在不同感染状态下,三种亚型ＥＢＮＡ抗原在细胞中的表达程度。结果表明,处于潜伏感染状态下的Ｒａｊｉ细胞ＥＢＮＡ－１表达量较大,经巴豆油和正丁酸诱导进入钝挫感染状态后ＥＢＮＡ－１表达减少,而ＥＢＮＡ－２的表达增强。Ｂ＿（９５－８）细胞也有相似的趋势。表明ＥＢ病毒的激活可能与不同ＥＢＮＡ亚型表达量的改变有关。     

The Probability of In Vivo Reactivation of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Increases with the Number of Latently Infected Neurons in the Ganglia

The purpose of this study was to define the relationship between herpes simplex virus (HSV) latency and in vivo ganglionic reactivation. Groups of mice with numbers of latently infected neurons ranging from 1.9 to 24% were generated by varying the input titer of wild-type HSV type 1 strain 17syn+. Reactivation of the virus in mice from each group was induced by hyperthermic stress. The number of animals that exhibited virus reactivation was positively correlated with the number of latently infected neurons in the ganglia over the entire range examined (r = 0.9852, P < 0.0001 [Pearson correlation]).     

Effect of Helper Virus on the Number of Murine Sarcoma Virus DNA Copies in Infected Mammalian Cells

Cell lines of four mammalian species were each examined for the number of Moloney murine sarcoma virus (M-MSV) DNA copies in total cellular DNA after M-MSV transformation. Sarcoma-positive, leukemia-negative (S+L-) M-MSV-transformed cells were compared to M-MSV-transformed cells infected with a replicating leukemia virus. Both unfractionated M-MSV complementary DNA and complementary DNA representing the MSV-specific and the MSV-murine leukemia virus-common regions of the M-MSV genome were hybridized to total cellular DNA of various species. DNAs of mouse, cat, dog, and human S+L-cells contained from less than one to a few proviral M-MSV DNA copies per haploid genome. In contrast, helper virus-coinfected, M-MSV-producing cells of each species showed a 3- to 10-fold increase in M-MSV proviral DNA over that found in corresponding S+L- cells. MSV-specific and MSV-murine leukemia virus-common nucleotide sequences were each increased to a similar degree. A corresponding examination of cellular DNA of leukemia virus-infected normal or S+L- mammalian cells was performed to establish the resulting number of leukemia proviral DNA copies. The infection of normal or S+L- mammalian cells with several leukemia-type viruses that did not have nucleotide sequences closely related to the cell before infection resulted in the appearance of one to three corresponding leukemia proviral DNA copies.     

Number of Virus Particles in Insects and Plants Infected with Wound Tumor Virus

A new procedure for counting virus particles was employed to measure the concentration of wound tumor virus in purified virus preparations, in plant tumors, and in the insect vector. Partially purified wound tumor virus was used to establish the quantitative features of the method. A 1-g amount of plant tumor tissue contained an average of 5 x 10(10) virus particles and 1 g of insect tissue contained 2 x 10(10) particles.     

Claudin-6 and Occludin Natural Variants Found in a Patient Highly Exposed but Not Infected with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Do Not Confer HCV Resistance In Vitro

The clinical course of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection is highly variable between infected individual hosts: up to 80% of acutely HCV infected patients develop a chronic infection while 20% clear infection spontaneously. Spontaneous clearance of HCV infection can be predicted by several factors, including symptomatic acute infection, favorable IFNL3 polymorphisms and gender. In our study, we explored the possibility that variants in HCV cell entry factors might be involved in resistance to HCV infection. In a same case patient highly exposed but not infected by HCV, we previously identified one mutation in claudin-6 (CLDN6) and a rare variant in occludin (OCLN), two tight junction proteins involved in HCV entry into hepatocytes. Here, we conducted an extensive functional study to characterize the ability of these two natural variants to prevent HCV entry. We used lentiviral vectors to express Wildtype or mutated CLDN6 and OCLN in different cell lines and primary human hepatocytes. HCV infection was then investigated using cell culture produced HCV particles (HCVcc) as well as HCV pseudoparticles (HCVpp) expressing envelope proteins from different genotypes. Our results show that variants of CLDN6 and OCLN expressed separately or in combination did not affect HCV infection nor cell-to-cell transmission. Hence, our study highlights the complexity of HCV resistance mechanisms supporting the fact that this process probably not primarily involves HCV entry factors and that other unknown host factors may be implicated.     

Epstein-Barr Virus Recombinant Lacking Expression of Glycoprotein gp150 Infects B Cells Normally but Is Enhanced for Infection of Epithelial Cells

Glycoprotein gp150 is a highly glycosylated protein encoded by the BDLF3 open reading frame of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). It does not have a homolog in the alpha- and betaherpesviruses, and its function is not known. To determine whether the protein is essential for replication of EBV in vitro, a recombinant virus which lacked its expression was made. The recombinant virus had no defects in assembly, egress, binding, or infectivity for B cells or epithelial cells. Infection of epithelial cells was, however, enhanced. The glycoprotein was sensitive to digestion with a glycoprotease that digests sialomucins, but no adhesion to cells that express selectins that bind to sialomucin ligands could be detected.     

Germinal Center B Cell Depletion Diminishes CD4+ Follicular T Helper Cells in Autoimmune Mice

Background

Continuous support from follicular CD4⁺ T helper (Tfh) cells drives germinal center (GC) responses, which last for several weeks to produce high affinity memory B cells and plasma cells. In autoimmune Sle1 and NZB/W F1 mice, elevated numbers of Tfh cells persist, promoting the expansion of self-reactive B cells. Expansion of circulating Tfh like cells have also been described in several autoimmune diseases. Although, the signals required for Tfh differentiation have now been well described, the mechanisms that sustain the maintenance of fully differentiated Tfh are less understood. Recent data demonstrate a role for GC B cells for Tfh maintenance after protein immunization.

Methods and Finding

Given the pathogenic role Tfh play in autoimmune disease, we explored whether B cells are required for maintenance of autoreactive Tfh. Our data suggest that the number of mature autoreactive Tfh cells is controlled by GC B cells. Depletion of B cells in Sle1 autoimmune mice leads to a dramatic reduction in Tfh cells. In NZB/W F1 autoimmune mice, similar to the SRBC immunization model, GC B cells support the maintenance of mature Tfh, which is dependent mainly on ICOS. The CD28-associated pathway is dispensable for Tfh maintenance in SRBC immunized mice, but is required in the spontaneous NZB/W F1 model.

Conclusion

These data suggest that mature Tfh cells require signals from GC B cells to sustain their optimal numbers and function in both autoimmune and immunization models. Thus, immunotherapies targeting B cells in autoimmune disease may affect pathogenic Tfh cells.     

Integration of Proviral DNA in Chicken Cells Infected with Schmidt-Ruppin Rous Sarcoma Virus Is Not Enhanced by DNA Repair

The effect DNA repair might have on the integration of exogenous proviral DNA into host cell DNA was investigated by comparing the efficiency of proviral DNA integration in normal chicken embryonic fibroblasts and in chicken embryonic fibroblasts treated with UV or 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide. The cells were treated with UV or 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide at various time intervals ranging from 6 h before to 24 h after infection with Schmidt-Ruppin strain A of Rous sarcoma virus. The chicken embryonic fibroblasts were subsequently cultured for 18 to 21 days to ensure maximal integration and elimination of nonintegrated exogenous proviral DNA before DNA was extracted. Integration of proviral DNA into the cellular genome was quantitated by hybridization of denatured cellular DNA on filters with an excess of (3)H-labeled 35S viral RNA. The copy number of the integrated proviruses in normal cells and in infected cells was also determined from the kinetics of liquid RNA-DNA hybridization in DNA excess. Both RNA excess and DNA excess methods of hybridization indicate that two to three copies of the endogenous provirus appear to be present per haploid normal chicken cell genome and that two to three copies of the provirus of Schmidt-Ruppin strain A of Rous sarcoma virus become integrated per haploid cell genome after infection. The copy number of viral genome equivalents integrated per cell treated with UV or 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide at different time intervals before or after infection did not differ from the copy number in untreated but infected cells. This finding supports our previous report that the integration of oncornavirus proviral DNA is restricted to specific sites in the host cell DNA and suggests a specific mechanism for integration.     

Protein Synthesis in BHK-21 Cells Infected with Semliki Forest Virus

[³H]leucine-labeled proteins synthesized in BHK-21 cells infected with Semliki Forest virus were fractionated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Cellular and virus-specific proteins were identified by difference analysis of the PAGE profiles. The specific activity of intracellular [³H]leucine was determined. Two alterations of protein synthesis, which develop with different time courses, were discerned. (i) In infected cultures an inhibition of overall protein synthesis to about 25% of the protein synthesis in mock-infected cultures develops between about 1 and 4 h postinfection (p.i.). (ii) The relative amount of virus-specific polypeptides versus cellular polypeptides increases after infection. About 80% of the proteins synthesized at 4 h p.i. are cellular proteins. Since significant amounts of nontranslocating ribosomes in polyribosomes were not detected up to 7 h p.i., the inhibition of protein synthesis is not caused by inactivation of about 75% of all polyribosomes but by a decreased protein synthetic activity of the majority of polyribosomes. Indirect evidence indicates that an inhibition of elongation and/or release of protein synthesis develops in infected cells, which is sufficient to account for the observed inhibition of protein synthesis. Inhibition of over-all protein synthesis developed when virus-specific RNA began to accumulate at the maximal rate. This relationship was observed during virus multiplication at 37, 30, and 25 C. A possible mechanism by which synthesis of virus-specific RNA in the cytoplasm could inhibit cellular protein synthesis is discussed. Indirect evidence and analysis of polyribosomal RNA show that the increased synthesis of virus-specific protein is brought about by a substitution of cellular by viral mRNA in the polyribosomes.